My Father..

My father's birthday is this week. I have been trying to come up with something to write about him. It's sort of hard to write about someone that is so important to you and has taught you so much.

The old saying, "When I was young, I thought my Dad wasn't very smart, but I'm happy to say he's made great strides since then." rings very true for my father. I know I have been very fortunate to have such a wise, gentle man for a father.

His name is William Glen Homan, but he goes by Glen. I certainly don't know everything about my dad, but I know more than most people. I know he was born in Southern California. He became a Christian after meeting my mom, and became very active in all the churches he has ever been a part of. He eventually spent so much time studying the bible that he became a Sunday School teacher, and still continues to teach as often as he can. While his bible studies have never been published professionally, he has written and printed many pamphlets and booklets that have been used widely in the churches that he has taught in.

With the perspective that age has finally brought my still slightly flaky mind, I understand a lot more about my dad now. I think he may have wished he could have went to school more, maybe even seminary. I know he may have had a lot of goals and dreams that he could not attain because he was working so hard trying to earn a living.

We all feel like that to some degree, I know I do. But in doing so, we always seem to miss the things that we did accomplish along the way. My dad may not have ever got to seminary, but he has accumulated an incredible amount of knowledge of all things biblical. Even more important than that, he has obtained a Christian philosophy that is both pragmatic and intellectual.

I remember when I finished seminary, I thought I had figured out the entire world and half of heaven. The real world was quick to explain things much differently to me. After that sort of shaking, it was the things that my dad taught me that helped me to make sense of a world that doesn't conform to neat,clean religious philosophies.

There is a lot more to my dad than just what he knows. I remember in the different churches I grew up in that my dad was much more than just a Sunday School teacher. He was the one that counseled people, who looked out for people, who helped people that were struggling to understand things. This didn't just apply to people in church, he was always reaching out to everyone I knew. He has always presented the type of model of sincerity and caring that I still use to measure all that I say or do.

My dad is an example of someone who may not have achieved the sort of notoriety he deserved, but has accomplished so much in the lives of all the people around him that he will always be remembered.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Love, John

Post Election Let Down...

I have been reading a lot of blogs recently from Democrats that are just really distraught over the election. We're not just talking crying in their beer here, there is some real pain going on in the country right now. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have reported a huge increase in hits to their sites explaining how to immigrate. I had hoped after the election people would "start the healing", but I don't think that's going to happen. I don't know what the answer is. I don't think there is one answer. People's thoughts and values are very complicated.

I can honestly say that I really understand how the people that don't like, strike that, hate, George W. Bush feel. When Bill Clinton was in the White House, I couldn't stand to hear him talk on the TV. It just made me mad for so many reasons.

I remember my grandma would get real agitated when Reagan came on the TV or radio because she could not stand him. We all knew not to discuss politics with grandma, she was a very "passionate" person. I still miss her a lot.

People are more than political parties and beliefs. There is more that we agree on than we realize. Anyone who wants to leave this country now, well, I would doubt if they "get it". By "it", I mean the ins and outs of our political system. We have survived much worse chasms of differences, even a war between the states. Our political system is messy, its not pretty, and it runs more like a '76 Pinto than a Bentley. But it runs...

America remains the youngest country with the oldest constitution. We will survive and eventually thrive, that is, as long as we stick together.

-John